Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the speech act of complaining in Xhosa. It is organized into six
chapters.
Chapter 1 states the aim of the study. The method, design and the organization of the
study are also presented.
In Chapter 2 the speech acts and politeness theories are presented as the basic
framework of this study. It is clear that people do not only produce utterances, which
contain grammatical structures and words when attempting to express themselves, but
they always perform actions via those utterances. The actions people perform via their
utterances are done in accordance within a certain area of linguistic pragmatics.
Chapter 3 deals with the speech act of complaining as discussed by various theorists.
Chapter 4 is concerned with complaints strategies. Here it is revealed that one must be
able to voice one's annoyance or anger while at the same time it is important to avoid
embarrassment by creating a situation in which it becomes impossible for him/her to face
the aversiveness of taking the blame.
Chapter 5 deals with complaint situations in Xhosa. In order to make sense of what is said
during an interaction, various factors have been examined, which relate to social distance
and closeness. The relative status of the participants is based on social values.
Complaint situations are divided into three social groups: power relations, friendship and
strangers. Power relations involve people of superior and low status. This group is
divided into two subgroups: people with superior status to people with low status and vice
versa; those speakers with a lower status in a Xhosa speaking context tend to mark social
distance between themselves and higher status speakers.
Among friends, there is no social distance because people tend to treat one another as
equals. The same is true of strangers, although they don't know each other; they tend to
treat one another with mutual respect.
Most of the time complaints in Xhosa express disapproval or negative feelings towards the
source of the complaint. Complaints sometimes can be impolite. They can lead to conflict
as they are sometimes very threatening, accusing and cursing. That is why a number of
strategies have been introduced to a complainant who wants to avoid direct confrontation
with the complainee. The indirect accusation strategy is the number one tool, which is
always used by the complainers to avoid conflict, unlike annoyance, direct accusation and
explicit blame of the accused's action or of the accused as a person.
People who use indirect accusations do not want to run the risk of losing face, unlike the
direct accusation, which is face-threatening. Responding to a complaint is also an
important factor as it promotes further interaction. Response serves as a way of
displaying interest in what the speaker is saying. It has been noticed that response gives
the speakers the opportunity to voice their feelings.
Finally, Chapter 6 presents the conclusions of the investigation and the main findings of
the study are summarized. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die spraakhandeling van klagte in Xhosa. Dit is georganiseer in
ses hoofstukke.
Hoofstuk 1 bied die doelstelling van die studie. Die metode, ontwerp en organisasie van
die studie word ook bespreek.
In Hoofstuk2 word die spraakhandelinge en beleefdheidsteorieë bespreek as die
raamwerk van die studie. Dit word duidelik gemaak dat mense nie slegs uitinge produseer
wat grammatikale strukture en woorde bevat nie, maar hulle voer altyd aksies uit via die
uitinge. Hierdie aksies wat mense uitvoer via hulle uitinge word gedoen in
ooreenstemming in bepaalde area van linguistiese pragmatiek.
Hoofstuk 3 behandel in die besonder die spraakhandeling van klagte soos ondersoek deur
verskillende navorsers.
Hoofstuk 4 behandel klagte-strategieë. Hier word aangedui dat 'n spreker in staat moet
wees om hy/sy se ontevredenheid of woede te lug terwyl dit terselfdertyd belangrik is om
verleentheid te vermy deur die skep van 'n situasie waar dit vir hom/haar onmoontlik maak
om te staan te kom voor die neem van die blaam.
Hoofstuk 5 ondersoek klagte-situasies in Xhosa. Ten einde sin te maak oor wat gesê
word en 'n interaksie, is verskeie faktore ondersoek wat verband hou met sosiale opstand
en nabyheid. Die realtiewe status van die deelnemers word gebaseer op sosiale waardes.
Klagte-situasies kan verdeel word in terme van drie sosiale groepe: magsverhoudinge,
vriendskap en vreemdelingskap. Magsverhoudinge hou verband met die verhoudinge
tussen mense met hoë en lae status. Hierdie groep word verdeel in twee sub-groepe:
mense met superieuse status en mense met lae status en omgekeerd. Persone met 'n
laer status in 'n Xhosasprekende konteks is geneig om sosiale afstand te markeer tussen
hulleself en hoër status sprekers.
Daar is geen sosiale opstand tussen vriende nie, omdat sulke persone geneig is om
mekaar as gelykes te behandel. Dieselfde is waar van vreemdelinge, want alhoewel hulle
mekaar nie ken nie, is hulle geneig om mekaar met respek te behandel.
Die meeste van die klagtes oor tyd in Xhosa gee druk misnoeë of negatiewe gevoelens uit
met betrekking tot die bron van die klagte. Klagtes kan soms onbeleefd wees. Hulle kan
lei tot konflik, aangesien hulle soms baie bedreigend aantygend en beledigend kan wees.
Daarom is 'n aantal strategieë beskikbaar vir 'n klaer wat direkte konfrontasie wil vermy
teenoor die persoon waarteen gekla word. Die indirekte aantyging strategie is die
voorkeur strategie wat deur die klaers gebruik word kom konflik te vermy, in teenstelling
met kwaad word direkte aantyging en eksplisiete blaam van die aangetygde persoon se
aksie of die persoon self.
Persone wat indirekte aantygings gebruik, wil nie die risiko loop om "gesig" (face) te
verloor nie, in teenstelling met die direkte aantyging, wat gesig-bedreiging is. Om te
reageer op 'n klagte, is ook 'n belangrike faktor, aangesien dit verdere interaksie
aanmoedig. Die gee van 'n reaksie is 'n wyse om aan te toon dat daar belangstelling is in
wat die spreker sê. Daar is aangetoon dat 'n reaksie vir sprekers die geleentheid gee om
hulle gevoelens te lug.
Laastens, gee Hoofstuk 6 die gevolgtrekkings van die ondersoek, en die belangrikste
bevindinge van die studie word opgesom.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/52579 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Manjiya, Monelwa Precious |
| Contributors | Du Plessis, J. A., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of African Languages. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 172 pages |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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